Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day(thisisgoingtobebig.com)
thisisgoingtobebig.com
Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
http://www.thisisgoingtobebig.com/blog/2012/4/2/tattoos-and-ycombinator-demo-day.html
7 comments
This is why I probably won't go to another YC Demo Day--on the off chance I get invited back.
Why say this? This post is fine explaining the preference to get to know entrepreneurs well and the apparent mistake entrepreneurs are making by approaching investors whom don't know the entrepreneur at all. But it seems to me that Demo Day is just another opportunity to hear an angle on a product as well as getting to know the entrepreneurs behind it.
And why was he having a conversation with Christina from USV if he wants to get to know entrepreneurs better? Then, why let the entrepreneur finish? Put on the Tom Hagen face and tell him "Now, wait just a minute" and start grilling the entrepreneur with questions to get to know him better. Maybe there is something I'm missing about why as an investor you wouldn't play this to your advantage. (As for the point about learning whether the investor is an asshole, this is Y Combinator: don't be an asshole or it is unlikely you'll have the opportunity to invest again.)
The investor is usually the veteran, the entrepreneur is usually the freshman. School him. That's the duty of the veterans in the game.
Why say this? This post is fine explaining the preference to get to know entrepreneurs well and the apparent mistake entrepreneurs are making by approaching investors whom don't know the entrepreneur at all. But it seems to me that Demo Day is just another opportunity to hear an angle on a product as well as getting to know the entrepreneurs behind it.
And why was he having a conversation with Christina from USV if he wants to get to know entrepreneurs better? Then, why let the entrepreneur finish? Put on the Tom Hagen face and tell him "Now, wait just a minute" and start grilling the entrepreneur with questions to get to know him better. Maybe there is something I'm missing about why as an investor you wouldn't play this to your advantage. (As for the point about learning whether the investor is an asshole, this is Y Combinator: don't be an asshole or it is unlikely you'll have the opportunity to invest again.)
The investor is usually the veteran, the entrepreneur is usually the freshman. School him. That's the duty of the veterans in the game.
I did get to meet a lot of entrepreneurs there... but I knew her, so I said hello.
I let the entrepreneur finish b/c I didn't want to interrupt and it was only two min anyway.
I let the entrepreneur finish b/c I didn't want to interrupt and it was only two min anyway.
This seems like throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Why would you not go to a demo day with some of the best signal-to-noise ratio on the planet?
I haven't been to a YC demo day in a while, but I assume that many/most companies don't close their whole rounds in 24h. Why not just say, "I liked your pitch-- I'd love to sit down with you guys for an hour or two tomorrow to talk thru it a bit." and then go on to describe how you like to add value/be involved.
It's possible that all of them aren't looking for hands-on-guidance from their earliest investors... But perhaps some of them are.
I haven't been to a YC demo day in a while, but I assume that many/most companies don't close their whole rounds in 24h. Why not just say, "I liked your pitch-- I'd love to sit down with you guys for an hour or two tomorrow to talk thru it a bit." and then go on to describe how you like to add value/be involved.
It's possible that all of them aren't looking for hands-on-guidance from their earliest investors... But perhaps some of them are.
I spent a ton of time trying to get to know entrepreneurs early--even before their ideas are fully formed or before they have their decks. That's where I think I'm going to have the best outcomes and where I'll be able to be the most useful investor--where everyone knows why they're in, what they're there for, and we can all thoughtfully get on the same page about the vision we're trying to move toward.
Great! I'm one of those entrepreneurs, but I am an unknown. Before I get into YC (assuming that happens), how do I get in touch with you, Mr. Investor?
Great! I'm one of those entrepreneurs, but I am an unknown. Before I get into YC (assuming that happens), how do I get in touch with you, Mr. Investor?
There are many non-traditional routes to get to know investors besides the usual networking events/cold email/calling. I'm friends with the author (Charlie) outside of just the tech world. We became friends a couple of years ago when he tweeted out about needed volunteers for a kayaking program he helped start over at the Brooklyn bridge park (http://www.bbpboathouse.org/ for anyone in NYC that's interested). I had grown up kayaking so was mostly interested in having way to do so in NYC, but also wanted to meet Charlie. When I showed up, there were probably 10 or so people from the NY tech scene that wanted to get some face time with Charlie and over the course of the day he spent 1-on-1 time with everyone. Most only showed up for that one session, but a few have been back from time to time.
This isn't a strategy that you can use to get access to every investor because like Charlie said, it takes time to build up relationships and really get to know people. However, if you do have a few key people you want to get to know, getting to know they outside of the tech scene can be a great way to build a long term relationship. You need to figure out a non-creepy way of doing so (i.e. don't just start showing up where they check in on foursquare (http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2011/03/did-someone-ruin-fou...) but at the end of the day, investors are people and they often have causes/activities that they're passionate about and may overlap with your interest.
This isn't a strategy that you can use to get access to every investor because like Charlie said, it takes time to build up relationships and really get to know people. However, if you do have a few key people you want to get to know, getting to know they outside of the tech scene can be a great way to build a long term relationship. You need to figure out a non-creepy way of doing so (i.e. don't just start showing up where they check in on foursquare (http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2011/03/did-someone-ruin-fou...) but at the end of the day, investors are people and they often have causes/activities that they're passionate about and may overlap with your interest.
Try the link labeled "Meet with me" on the blog.
Believe me, I tried (not with this particular investor, but another one). If you're a nobody, no investor wants to talk to you. YC, and other similar programs, move you from the "nobody" group to a "somebody" group; but then you need demo days to efficiently introduce entrepreneurs to investors, and vice versa.
While that's a good point and a great advantage of YC, did you only try one other investor?
I have met with four VCs/early stage investors in NYC just by responding to blog posts or e-mailing in to contact me posts. I have obviously e-mailed and attempted to contact much more than four, but if you want to meet people the best way to do it is connect with them in a non-generic way via their blog, office hours, whatever means they prefer.
It's obviously not incredibly easy, but every investor knows the importance of dealflow, and it's getting harder to pre-screen for early stage deals (except using YC), so if you are persistent enough I think you can definitely get in front of the right people.
I have met with four VCs/early stage investors in NYC just by responding to blog posts or e-mailing in to contact me posts. I have obviously e-mailed and attempted to contact much more than four, but if you want to meet people the best way to do it is connect with them in a non-generic way via their blog, office hours, whatever means they prefer.
It's obviously not incredibly easy, but every investor knows the importance of dealflow, and it's getting harder to pre-screen for early stage deals (except using YC), so if you are persistent enough I think you can definitely get in front of the right people.
"If you're a nobody, no investor wants to talk to you."
Well, sure if you go in with the pitch that you are, in fact, a nobody, then I'd certainly be less interested. Who wants to talk to someone who isn't confident that what they're doing with their time is awesome? Tell me why you're awesome... and if you're in and around NYC, I'd be happy to make some time.
Well, sure if you go in with the pitch that you are, in fact, a nobody, then I'd certainly be less interested. Who wants to talk to someone who isn't confident that what they're doing with their time is awesome? Tell me why you're awesome... and if you're in and around NYC, I'd be happy to make some time.
Maybe I just haven't learned the proper bluster when talking to investors... I really believe my idea is awesome, that I and my co-founders have solid skills, and that our startup will succeed with or without investors (but will succeed faster with funding). I feel anything else is BS that investors especially will see through, or am I missing something?
Alas, I am in the Triangle area of NC, but I'd be happy to chat via skype!
Alas, I am in the Triangle area of NC, but I'd be happy to chat via skype!
Investors need to hear the BS. You should be pitching a billion-dollar idea, even if that's phase 3 of your plan.
Also, NC is sadly outside the seed stage bubble. If you have traction, you may get a meeting, but then you won't need it.
Also, NC is sadly outside the seed stage bubble. If you have traction, you may get a meeting, but then you won't need it.
As someone pretty involved/familiar with tattoo culture, getting a flash piece off the wall is pretty common and accepted.
I mean obviously you don't walk into Tribal Overlord Tattoo on the strip in Orlando Florida (doesn't exist) and pick a biomechanical alien off the wall, but you would walk into say Smith St. Tattoo in Brooklyn (does exist) and pick something off the wall.
I mean obviously you don't walk into Tribal Overlord Tattoo on the strip in Orlando Florida (doesn't exist) and pick a biomechanical alien off the wall, but you would walk into say Smith St. Tattoo in Brooklyn (does exist) and pick something off the wall.
As someone also involved/familiar with the tattoo culture, I'd say that "accepted" is taking it a bit far, and that "tolerated" is closer to the mark. Most tattoo artists I know produce flash because they know it pays the bills, not because they really like people using it. I don't know any tattoo artist that won't jump at the opportunity to create something new and unique.
Common and accepted, sure.
Drinking at a party, to the point of über silliness is common an accepted. It's still not prudent and you still have to deal with the consequences the next morning (and maybe for the rest of your life in certain circumstances.)
So, it's an "are you prepared to deal with the consequences?" kind of thing. Maybe the teenage girl had already decided she'd pick something small and unobtrusive and had chosen a discreet location for the work. Maybe, and here's where imprudence comes in, she walked by a tattoo shop with her friend and decided "a tattoo would be, like, totally hardcore!" and gave it no more thought.
Drinking at a party, to the point of über silliness is common an accepted. It's still not prudent and you still have to deal with the consequences the next morning (and maybe for the rest of your life in certain circumstances.)
So, it's an "are you prepared to deal with the consequences?" kind of thing. Maybe the teenage girl had already decided she'd pick something small and unobtrusive and had chosen a discreet location for the work. Maybe, and here's where imprudence comes in, she walked by a tattoo shop with her friend and decided "a tattoo would be, like, totally hardcore!" and gave it no more thought.
You got a barbed wire wrap around tattoo after 1994? Ouch.
Yeah, doesn't really help his case that the way to go is to sit around overthinking something until you gain the courage to act. The girl he made fun of was acting like she'd read Blink and is no less rational than his decision-making.
haha... not the first time I've heard it and it never ceases to be hilarious.
If I think about the best investments in startups ever, I think about Andy Bechtolsheim's investment in Google. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes then a check was cut. Peter Theil invested in Facebook after a 1 hour meeting.
Maybe some investors and founders want to date for a bit, but the biggest winners in history got in bed together without even dancing.
Maybe some investors and founders want to date for a bit, but the biggest winners in history got in bed together without even dancing.
I'm not sure if these two aren't just outliers. The investors were pretty well known after all and had a lot of experience.
I think that closing a deal too fast can be as bad as dicussing it too long. Either you get a fast decission or not, brickering around to much about unecessary details is IMHO a sure sign that it takes too long. Not being asked any questions and just being thrown money for being part of a YC batch is, on the other hand, a sure sign it doesn't take long enough.
I think that closing a deal too fast can be as bad as dicussing it too long. Either you get a fast decission or not, brickering around to much about unecessary details is IMHO a sure sign that it takes too long. Not being asked any questions and just being thrown money for being part of a YC batch is, on the other hand, a sure sign it doesn't take long enough.
There are certainly people who do investments based on a quick meeting (e.g. Andy Bechtolsheim's Google investment), but most people will have follow up meetings before actually committing to an investment.
That said, we select startups based on 10 minute meetings, and that works remarkable well.
Also, criticizing entrepreneurs for pitching at demo day just seems mean.